


Stable Ground

by Musetotheworld



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [11]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Balcony Scene, F/F, Kara is feeling lonely, Old traditions make way for new ones, Pre-Relationship, SuperCat Slam, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-23 23:29:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9687104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musetotheworld/pseuds/Musetotheworld
Summary: Things are changing in Kara's life, too quickly for her to keep up with everything. Old traditions are being replaced with new ones everywhere she looks, and that leaves Kara desperate to hold on to the few reminders she has of simpler times.





	

It’s worse once night falls.

Kara had been able to push the loneliness away while the sun was still shining, while people were still rushing around. While the world was still busy and full of movement and joy. It had been easier, then.

But now the city is quiet, full of couples on dates and single individuals pretending they didn’t care. And maybe some of them don’t, Kara doesn’t know. She only knows that she does care, that it does hurt that she’s alone tonight.

Alex had always been there before, the Danvers sisters against the world when they both didn’t have a date. Instead they’d stay in with as much chocolate as they could buy, already planning to raid the stores the next morning for even more. They’d watch something gory and gruesome and in general try to forget they were both single on this night that seemed to punish them for it. It had become a tradition, even if only for the past few years.

But this year Alex is with Maggie, and Kara is _glad_ to see her sister with someone. She doesn’t know what their plans are (and suspects it’s better that way), but whatever they’re up to Kara is glad Alex has found someone who helps her be happy. Even if that leaves her a little lonely tonight.

She’d had offers, of course. Mon-El had shown off his new Earth knowledge by asking if she wanted to go out, but Kara hadn’t been interested. This night has always been about being alone, for her. She’s never had a Valentine, never been sure she wanted one. There always seemed to be a pressure to it, even if most humans didn’t take it that way. Something about coming to Earth as a teenager rather than being raised with the day made it different to Kara. It became an Earth ritual in her mind, no matter how it was explained to her. On Krypton she had just been starting the matching rituals to arrange her future marriage, so to arrive so close to a romantic holiday on Earth had given the day more importance than it actually held for most humans.

It hadn’t been a big deal over the past few years, because Alex had always been there. And if Alex was single, then there wasn’t anything wrong with Kara being single too. This wasn’t Krypton, she didn’t need to be already bonded to someone, so there was no reason for her to follow the rituals of Earth or Krypton. And it was easy to believe that when the person she looked to most had been right there with her.

But now Alex _does_ have someone, and Kara is starting to feel left behind in more ways than one. She doesn’t doubt Alex’s continued presence and support for even a second, but for so long Alex has been Kara’s truest constant. Even when she was distant in college, they still had each other. Kara never had to doubt that if she needed her sister for anything, Alex would be there. And now, that was still true, but Kara knows she isn’t the only priority in Alex’s life, and coming to grips with that is harder than it has any reason to be.

She knows why, of course. She doesn’t have anything else to latch on to. And while she’s a superhero who shouldn’t need anything, she’s also a little girl who has lost so much and will always need something solid and constant in her life just to prove that this is real. And lately, even those things that had previously been those constants have been changing.

Everything keeps changing and changing, and Kara can’t keep up. She doesn’t like change, doesn’t like what it always seems to mean for her, and this time around is no different. She’s been left adrift, clinging to the reminders of what used to bring her stability.

That’s why she’s here, on Cat’s balcony, on this night of all nights. She’d always been able to count on Cat’s advice, both as Kara and as Supergirl. And when everything else seems to be changing, at least this balcony is still here, still a tangible reminder of the memories created here. It’s not the same as having Cat by her side to ground and center her, but at least it’s something.

She’s visited often, over the months since Cat left. It’s usually enough just being here, sitting on the ledge with the city spread out beneath her. She comes to sit and take in the city for a few moments, and remembers Cat’s comforting presence. If she tries hard enough she can almost pretend they’re sitting silently, the way they had so many times before

But tonight it’s not enough, and Kara feels more adrift than before, too aware of what’s missing to take comfort in what’s still there. She tries anyway, closing her eyes and shutting down her senses until they’re barely human level, trying to recreate the memories even as they seem to be just out of reach.

“No date tonight, Supergirl?” a voice comes from behind her, and Kara jumps in shock, falling from where she’d perched with a flash of panic she really hopes no one else saw. As it is, the panic keeps her from letting her powers kick in for a few seconds, and by the time Kara remembers she can fly she’s hovering somewhere around the fifth floor feeling sheepish. She’s tempted to just fly away, but her embarrassment can’t overcome the pull she feels towards the woman waiting on the balcony. So with a sigh and a quick shake of her head Kara slowly rises until she can land safely next to Cat.

“Miss Grant, I wasn’t expecting you to show up,” Kara says when she lands, falling into her hero stance by habit before realizing what she’d done and relaxing into something that’s more her.

“From the way you nearly made a crater in my sidewalk, I did catch that,” Cat says sharply, and Kara can hear the worry buried beneath the snap. “I would have thought with all your super senses it would be impossible to sneak up on you.”

“I shut them down,” Kara admits, shuffling as she shifts her weight from foot to foot. “I needed a little bit of quiet, just for a moment.”

“This would be the place to find that,” Cat agrees, the last of the heat and worry in her voice fading as she runs a careful glance over Kara as if checking for injury.

“I’ve missed you,” Kara dares to say as she crosses to Cat’s side, leaning on the railing next to her as they both turn to look out over their city. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“I’ve spent the last ten Valentine’s Days on this balcony with a glass of fine scotch, I wasn’t about to break the tradition,” Cat says as she waves her glass to illustrate her point. “What about you, Supergirl? No big plans for your evening?”

“I usually spend it with my sister, celebrating being alone with as much chocolate as we can buy,” Kara admits, not bothering to hide behind deflections about her family here. She knows that Cat knows, and while she thinks they’ll probably continue to dance around the issue for a while, that doesn’t mean she feels the need to keep up the entirety of the farce.

“And she’s not alone this year, I take it?” Cat says as she sips her drink, smirking as Kara nods. “Well I may not be your sister, and all I have are M&Ms, but if you want to stick around, I’d be glad of the company. Just because we’re single doesn’t mean we have to be alone.”

“You might regret offering to share your candy with me, Miss Grant,” Kara teases to hide the rush of emotions she feels at Cat’s offer.

“I never offer anything I don’t want,” Cat says, and Kara can almost hear her name at the end of the sentence, barely held back by their joint understanding that this is not the time. Not a night of emotions. Kara might not know what Cat is feeling right now, and Cat might not fully understand what she’s going through, but they both have their pain and recognize that the other does as well. And without sharing, without opening the wounds, they’ve offered to be there for one another until the pain recedes.

And as they settle in, Kara with her glass of M&Ms and Cat with her glass of scotch, Kara realizes that she might have found someone she wouldn’t mind asking to be her Valentine. Maybe next year neither of them will face this day alone.


End file.
